RAMSEY CROOKALL

12th  August

Evening Report

The FTSE 100 closed up 3% after a week of volatility as investors once more seek out risk, pushing up the heavily weighted banking sector. Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays are up 4.8% and 5.3% respectively, encouraged by news that four European nations have installed a temporary ban on the short selling of financial stocks and some US data that  encouraged hopes of a continued global recovery.

Safe-haven stocks suffer, with gold producer Randgold losing 0.2%. Kingfisher rose 5.9% as UBS added the stock to its key call list. On Monday comes Japanese GDP before the market open and US Empire State manufacturing numbers before the US open.

Oil-related stocks were on the fall in early trade as the price of Brent Crude fell 0.85% to $107.10 per barrel at the open. Tullow Oil, Amec and Petrofac were among the worst performers. FTSE 250 peer Premier Oil fell after announcing that it is to plug and abandon its Belut-Laut 1 exploration well in the Tuna block, Indonesia.

Oil firm EnQuest, however, is making gains after profits surged 145% on sales that doubled in the first half. The group said it remains on target to achieve its full-year production forecasts.

Newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror made strong gains saying that 'changes to the national Sunday newspaper market' prompted 'considerable circulation volume growth' for its Sunday titles.

THE FTSE 100 closed            Up 157 @ 5320                    THE DOW JONES at 4:45                      Up           165    @    11308                         NASDAQ COM at 4:45                         Up            13     @    2506                               Commodities

Spot Gold $/Oz           $1727 Brent Crude Oil          $108.35 September Delivery     Exchange Rates GBP – USD           1.6285 GBP - EURO         1.1431